Not long ago, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum ordered all U.S. national parks to post signs asking visitors to report any information that tells a negative story about the site or its history.
Burgum’s order implements Donald Trump’s executive order called “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History,” which aims to remove any stories or information that “inappropriately disparage Americans past or living (including persons living in colonial times)” from national parks and monuments. The order also called for the removal of “divisive race-centered ideology”.
Such “negative” history would include information about Japanese internment camps, white people owning Black slaves, the Civil War, etc.
The signs were to include the following message:
(Name of property) belongs to the American people, and (name of land management bureau) wants your feedback. Please let us know if you have identified (1) any areas of the (park/area, etc. as appropriate) that need repair; (2) any services that need improvement; or (3) any signs or other information that are negative about either past or living Americans or that fail to emphasize the beauty, grandeur, and abundance of landscapes and other natural features.
A QR code was included so visitors could report their concerns to the government about these issues.
QR code sign at Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park (PC: National Parks Conservation Association)
And report they did.
Several entities, including the Washington Post and Boing Boing, are reporting that dozens upon dozens of pages containing comments have been obtained by the National Parks Conservation Association, the 100-year old nonprofit created to protect the country’s national park system. The vast majority are probably not what government officials wanted to read.
From WaPo:
Only a handful of comments aligned with the administration’s goal of condemning “inappropriate” or “divisive” information. One of those comments criticized a guide for speculating on the sexuality of a historical figure. Another claimed that “woke” park rangers had taken away all the garbage cans.
Wait…park rangers are “woke” because they took away garbage cans???
Anyway, here are some examples of the “reports” park visitors have sent via the QR code:
- Of Yellowstone National Park: “The bison were great! But the bison delayed traffic. There were so many bison!”
- “Rangers, have a lovely day. You are appreciated.”
- Of the Stonewall National Monument (where they recently removed mentions of transgender and queer people from the park’s website, and removed the monument from the National Park Service list of Monuments and Memorials): “I’ve noticed there aren’t nearly enough signs about how a tyrannical government is trying to white wash history,” and ““Taking the T and Q (Transgender and Queer) out of the way the park tells the history of Stonewall is inaccurate and incomplete. Fix this!”
- Of Grand Teton National Park: ““Not enough moose. They are so hard to find! Moose pond was supposed to have moose, but we didn’t even see them there.”
- Of Manassas National Battlefield: “[T]he statue of Stonewall Jackson is incredibly offensive and should be removed. Our tax dollars should not be glorifying the Confederacy.”
- Of Keweenaw National Historical Park: ““This park is perfect. Please tell Trump to go **** himself.”
- Of Biscayne National Park: ““There are a lot of mosquitos can we do something about that?”
- Of Manzanar National Historic Site (a Japanese American internment camp): ““This initiative to ask the public to identify negative stories about Americans in the past or living, seems aimed at distorting history to meet partisan ideology.”
- Of Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore: ““The National Parks, as the Department of the Interior states, belong to Americans, all Americans. This means sharing the history, experiences, and stories of all the people who’ve called the United States home, even if it’s perceived as a ‘dark’ or ‘negative’ time in our history. The signs should incorporate truthful history, whether it’s positive or not.”
- Of Yosemite National Park: “Yosemite is awesome! Stop cutting funds for staffing, research, and visitor services,” read one. “I want to know ALL US history, not just what the government tells me to know. As a country, we need to know the history of all Americans, not just about white men. Hands off my parks!”
- “[T]he executive order asking for feedback is ****. Parks already do an amazing job telling stories that contain hard truths and everyone is entitled to the truth to make better decisions in our lives. So what if people feel bad? The Sierra Miwok band of Indian deserves to have their story told. Honesty, truth, facts and science are truly the values I demand when seeking out national parks.”
Other complaints focused on the cuts that the Trump administration has made to the country’s national parks. There were multiple complaints about unclean bathrooms and not enough rangers to give tours.
“Hire back park staff. We need them.”
National Park Conservation Association President and CEO Theresa Pierno said that work is underway to convince Secretary Burgum to rescind his order.
“”People love their national parks and deeply value the dedicated staff who protect them every day. It’s clear this administration is completely out of step with the American people when it comes to safeguarding these treasured places and the stories they tell.” said Pierno.
“A lot of our history is difficult to hear, but these are the places where people are educated about many issues in our past, and it’s so important,” Pierno continued. “How do you tell that story accurately, but you can’t describe anything that might negatively impact the history? History is full of good and bad, and mistakes were made. And we try to understand that history so we don’t repeat those mistakes.
“The Trump administration is trying to erase and rewrite history. But that’s not what the American people want,” she added. “Park visitors are asking for more inclusive storytelling, especially signage that honors tribal histories and voices. And we couldn’t agree more. Our national parks should reflect the full complexity of the land, its beauty, its past, and the people who have shaped it for generations.
“The American public doesn’t support firing park staff, gutting interpretation and putting our most treasured places at risk,” the NPCA president said. “From Zion to Yosemite, and Saratoga to Padre Island, visitors are experiencing firsthand the effects of severe staffing shortages, just as we’ve been warning for months. Park staff are doing the jobs of many with little support, and it’s pushing our parks to a breaking point. Secretary Burgum must put a stop to these reckless efforts and restore the staffing and stability our parks desperately need.”
Based on their feedback, it sounds as if a lot of Americans already know this. Which makes their response to the government’s request that much sweeter.
Feature photo: public domain
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